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We’ve seen the high markup currently being attached to the 2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The bottom line is that if you’d like to have one immediately then you have to pay. But how much? With this car, a Lava Orange example with 28 miles on it, I hope to satisfy that curiosity and see what one might go for. The owner of this GT3 RS has put it up for auction with no reserve. For those who might genuinely be in the market for a GT3 RS I imagine this would also be worth investigating, either to get a sense of the market or even to buy it. Lava Orange isn’t quite as bright as previous orange variants Porsche has released. In pictures it reminds me somewhat of Blood Orange, which is one of my favorite 911 colors and was only available in the late-60s and early-70s. As with any brightly hued vehicle the color won’t be for everyone, but a GT3 RS deserves this sort of color anyway. Why hide? This particular example seems fairly highly optioned, of perhaps most significance the carbon ceramic brakes were selected, and came with a sticker price of $209,735.
The Ultraviolet 2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS remains up for sale and the price has come down by $20K. I wanted to revisit this one because while this was the first GT3 RS in this color I had seen at the time I featured it, I have now come across a few others (all with equally high prices) and I’ve come to like the color a lot more. In direct light like we see here it does come across as an extremely bright purple, but in other pictures that are more shaded the color is much more subdued and, dare I say, extremely attractive. It will always be a niche color, there is no doubt about that, but seeing it again I think it’s less outlandish than I initially considered and really can fit the persona of the car quite well.
The below post originally appeared on our site December 6, 2015:
The 911 GT3 RS. The ultimate expression of a road-going icon. We’ve talked about this model quite a bit in the context of the 997 GT3 RS, which at this point appears will be the last of these models to feature a manual transmission rather than PDK, but we haven’t actually featured one. The GT3 RS itself also happens to be my favorite car so I’ve had my eye out for these for a while now, and I’ve seen quite a few of them coming up for sale. But for some reason this one really stood out (hint: it’s the color) and I finally decided to feature one. First things first: this is almost a ridiculous color, no better evidenced than by its name – ultraviolet. This is PURPLE in it most purple purpleness. But that’s fine and frankly these are the sorts of colors that I like to see on a GT3 RS anyway. That ridiculousness is propelled by a 4.0 liter flat-six throwing 500 hp at the 7-speed PDK transmission, which then delivers it all to the rear wheels as the rpms scream toward 9000. In typical GT3 RS fashion the interior has less frills, features lighter sport seats and it lacks rear seats altogether. That loss of weight along with the revised suspension will help these 911s keep up with the best other car makers can offer. I’m going to withhold my assessment of the styling of these until I see one in the flesh, but there’s a lot going on and I’m not sure I’m totally on board. About their performance there should be no such reservations.
Any ultimate 911 will be highly coveted. But when that ultimate 911 was never expected to be produced and happens to be a version that followed upon multiple variants of the model, then we really begin to step into rarefied air. For its homologation purposes Porsche released its first GT3 RS as part of the 996 model line. Those cars were never available in the US market so when it was announced that the 997 GT3 RS would make it to our shores, there was much rejoicing. But Porsche was restless and the 997 GT3 RS would see not one, not two, but three separate versions showcasing increasing displacement and further lightening. These began life with a 415 hp 3.6 liter flat-six, which two years later was replaced with a 3.8 liter flat-six producing 450 hp. It was assumed that would be the end and yet very late in the 997’s model life whispers began about one more version: a 4.0 liter flat-six pushing 500 hp. The numbers seem impossible. 500 hp from a relatively small package all directed to the rear wheels and all without the benefit of forced induction. This is truly engineering excellence.
I am contractually obligated to feature this car. Like anyone I have my personal favorites and while it is always difficult to narrow that list to a single vehicle, when taking in all considerations this is the car. I featured a couple different variations of the orange GT3 RS color scheme a few weeks back, though on those Orange served as the accent color rather than the primary color. Paul also recently featured one of his favorites, a Porsche Green GT3 RS with an extremely high price tag. So here is mine: an Orange over Black 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. I have the model car and it has many times served as my desktop wallpaper, which I suppose is the modern day version of the bedroom poster. It’s brazen, it’s fast, it was, at its time, the ultimate version of a road-going naturally-aspirated 911 available to buy. There have been many words spilled regarding Porsche’s choice to do away with the full manual transmission for the 991 GT3 RS, but suffice it to say from my perspective it may be a long while before this car is replaced as my favorite.
